So, coronavirus...

[Grandpa]

Johnson's lifting of restrictions somehow reminds me of this. The Great War of 1914 to 1917.

In terms of the various government premature easing of restrictions, this is the one I’m least worrying about. It’s already swept through here.

I’m reminded of the one I thought was utterly stupid after the first re opening where everyone was still unvaccinated, the strain a very deadly one, and the government were actively urging people to return to work using public transport.

Gosh are we nearly 2 years in to this thing?

At least two years.. it was likely here before we even recognised it.. it's gone quick though..

Going forward my only concern is that a new variant appears that is resistant to current vaccines that spreads fast and is deadlier than past ones... we all assume that future variants will always be milder... which while most likely, isn't necessarily so...

[tc27]

(yes only 3 of us will get the reference)

In the grim darkness of the 21st Century their is only Coronavirus

A thousand Daily Mail readers a day most be sacrificed to sustain her physic life force.

[JM2K6]

A country that remains in the EU is like a fortress with gates unbarred and unguarded

Suffer not the billionare paedophile to live

Only in scandal does duty end

Voting is the first step on the road to disappointment



Honestly, this shit writes itself

[GogLais]

It's one of those things that should happen (especially in offices, hospitality, schools etc), but once the immediate threat recedes, falls down the priority list. Are any other countries putting serious investment into it out of interest?

No idea!

Employers and hospitality venues now have an obligation to put mitigations in place to make their establishments safe, that’s a legal obligation in Scotland. It’s not currently defined what those mitigations are though. Post emergency legislation, I would hope this obligation remains in place and is more explicitly laid out in terms of ventilation and/or filtration.

Just thought - I had the not at all onerous task of doing the H&S Policy for our place of work - a small office so it was next to nothing. I’d have to take Covid into account now, sod that, it’d be out of my comfort zone.
Thing is there were very few absolutes, it was all what’s reasonably practicable. Glad I’m out of it.

[Biffer]

No idea!

Employers and hospitality venues now have an obligation to put mitigations in place to make their establishments safe, that’s a legal obligation in Scotland. It’s not currently defined what those mitigations are though. Post emergency legislation, I would hope this obligation remains in place and is more explicitly laid out in terms of ventilation and/or filtration.

Just thought - I had the not at all onerous task of doing the H&S Policy for our place of work - a small office so it was next to nothing. I’d have to take Covid into account now, sod that, it’d be out of my comfort zone.
Thing is there were very few absolutes, it was all what’s reasonably practicable. Glad I’m out of it.

Absolutely - H&S is always about what's reasonably practical. But even within that I think it's very vague what needs to be considered atm.

[troglodiet]

(yes only 3 of us will get the reference)

In the grim darkness of the 21st Century their is only Coronavirus

A thousand Daily Mail readers a day most be sacrificed to sustain her physic life force.

Are you 2 suggesting C19 is turning us into the Adeptus Astartes?

[JM2K6]

Sadly no, just the poor bastards overseen by a heartless and uncaring beaurocracy that sees countless people die or live in misery thanks to dogma and power hungry ruling classes that see everyone else as chattel

[sockwithaticket]

We could do worse than sacrificing psychics (charlatans and shysters that they are) to keep Liz on the throne and stop Charlie taking over.

The Tories certainly are reminiscent of the High Lords of Terra right now...

[Ovals]

Sadly no, just the poor bastards overseen by a heartless and uncaring beaurocracy that sees countless people die or live in misery thanks to dogma and power hungry ruling classes that see everyone else as chattel

You sound like you're doing a Refry impression - but with a hugely improved command of the English Language.

[yermum]

fucking neckbeards everywhere...

[sockwithaticket]

fucking neckbeards everywhere...

I'll have you know mine stops at the jaw line.

[sturginho]

Youngest daughter tested positive today

[sturginho]

After two years successfully avoiding the fucker, I've finally caught the fucking rona....

[Slick]

After two years successfully avoiding the fucker, I've finally caught the fucking rona....

Hope everyone is OK, sturginho.

At least you have the game on Sunday to cheer you up

[tabascoboy]

Really noticeable this morning in the supermarket that many fewer people are wearing masks - not just shoppers but staff too. More than half I'd say. I wore mine but honestly may not bother for much longer.

[sturginho]

After two years successfully avoiding the fucker, I've finally caught the fucking rona....

Hope everyone is OK, sturginho.

At least you have the game on Sunday to cheer you up

Thanks for reminding me!

[convoluted]

Five (more) people with Covid-19 have died ... in New Zealand (yesterday) the Ministry of Health says ...'Our thoughts and condolences are with the patients' family and friends. Out of respect we will be making no further comment' the Ministry said.

Translation: "We will not inform the public that these five were rather elderly / very obese / very fragile / riddled with comorbidities / or possibly all four ... thereby allowing us to Maintain The Fear."

[JM2K6]

Yeah, fuck anyone who is fat or old or has literally any kind of health problem eh.

[dpedin]

Contrary to popular belief the dreaded covid hasn't gone away! I hear that some modelling is suggesting another potential wave, there are some serious concerns about some new variants emerging which seem to be more serious in causing ill health/hospitalisations running alongside the vaccine waning. Numbers are creeping up. Fingers crossed!

[sefton]

Contrary to popular belief the dreaded covid hasn't gone away! I hear that some modelling is suggesting another potential wave, there are some serious concerns about some new variants emerging which seem to be more serious in causing ill health/hospitalisations running alongside the vaccine waning. Numbers are creeping up. Fingers crossed!

Best hope there is nothing to this as this government will let it rip through the population before they make a move, their political issues in Parliament take priority.

[tc27]

Guessing we might see restrictions tightened in a devolved area first?

[dpedin]

Guessing we might see restrictions tightened in a devolved area first?

First time Scotland has had more cases per 100k than England since September last year, which was driven by earlier return of schools. Last 2 weeks has seen increase in cases in Scotland, suggestion I have heard is that this is being driven by new omicron variant and possibly waning of vaccinations? We now have to rely on ONS study as other testing data is unreliable ie not sure how many folk are reporting as positive LFT for example. Fortunately Scotland has the highest % of population vaccinated of all the UK countries, 6% more of eligible pop than in England for example, so hopefully the corresponding increase in case numbers won't see a big increase in hospitalisations and deaths. However there is an uptick in both in Scotland so this doesn't augur well for rest of UK. From what I have heard we will see similar across rest of UK.

[mat the expat]

I was speaking to my Mum back in the UK yesterday and mentioned there wasn't much in the news now that the Ukraine situation dominates.

Hong Kong possibly heading back to Lockdown again - what is the real go in the UK?

[Enzedder]

Five (more) people with Covid-19 have died ... in New Zealand (yesterday) the Ministry of Health says ...'Our thoughts and condolences are with the patients' family and friends. Out of respect we will be making no further comment' the Ministry said.

Translation: "We will not inform the public that these five were rather elderly / very obese / very fragile / riddled with comorbidities / or possibly all four ... thereby allowing us to Maintain The Fear."

Except of course everyone was mentioned with their co-morbidities and everyone died WITH covid. Just depends where you get your information from really.

[Guy Smiley]

Five (more) people with Covid-19 have died ... in New Zealand (yesterday) the Ministry of Health says ...'Our thoughts and condolences are with the patients' family and friends. Out of respect we will be making no further comment' the Ministry said.

Translation: "We will not inform the public that these five were rather elderly / very obese / very fragile / riddled with comorbidities / or possibly all four ... thereby allowing us to Maintain The Fear."

Except of course everyone was mentioned with their co-morbidities and everyone died WITH covid. Just depends where you get your information from really.

The Sonny Blount School of Doing Gooder in Life?

[SaintK]

After two years successfully avoiding the fucker, I've finally caught the fucking rona....

Yep, me too as of this morning. Slight sore throat and a snotty nose
Hosted a sponsors lunch at my club on Saturday and with 2 teams at home the club was very busy
Oh well!!!

[Mahoney]

Shit.

[CM11]

Number of people in hospital testing positive for covid is a meaningless statistic now that it's endemic.

We saw in Jan that up to 50%, if not more, covid hospital patients were not being treated for covid.

[CM11]

That said, any overall increase is still not positive and we're seeing it here too. As people become more and more comfortable with less and less vigilance this was bound to happen. The hope is that it doesn't have a huge impact and seasonality kicks in this year as the virus, hopefully, settles into a more obvious pattern.

What's ahead for winter is anyone's guess.

[Biffer]

Number of people in hospital testing positive for covid is a meaningless statistic now that it's endemic.

We saw in Jan that up to 50%, if not more, covid hospital patients were not being treated for covid.

Nevertheless, you don't want any respiratory disease running loose across a hospital environment, so it puts extra load onto the system.

[Biffer]

That said, any overall increase is still not positive and we're seeing it here too. As people become more and more comfortable with less and less vigilance this was bound to happen. The hope is that it doesn't have a huge impact and seasonality kicks in this year as the virus, hopefully, settles into a more obvious pattern.

What's ahead for winter is anyone's guess.

I'd be surprised if there aren't some light restrictions brought back in at some point this winter for a short time.

[Mahoney]

He discusses the possibilities at length in the thread.

[CM11]

He discusses the possibilities at length in the thread.

Twitter are forcing me to sign up to read more than a couple of posts. I'm not giving in. Yet.

[Slick]

He discusses the possibilities at length in the thread.

Twitter are forcing me to sign up to read more than a couple of posts. I'm not giving in. Yet.

Don't! Not worth it, even in the face of a plague

[CM11]

He discusses the possibilities at length in the thread.

Twitter are forcing me to sign up to read more than a couple of posts. I'm not giving in. Yet.

Don't! Not worth it, even in the face of a plague

That's my thinking alright!

I know I'll be able to resist posting initially but there'll be some day that I'll be weak and can't help myself and that'll be that.

[Slick]

Twitter are forcing me to sign up to read more than a couple of posts. I'm not giving in. Yet.

Don't! Not worth it, even in the face of a plague

That's my thinking alright!

I know I'll be able to resist posting initially but there'll be some day that I'll be weak and can't help myself and that'll be that.

It's happening to me in slow motion, and I know it's happening. I told someone to fuck off yesterday and that's the dam broken really, I'll have to delete my account and try again in 6 months

[dpedin]

Number of people in hospital testing positive for covid is a meaningless statistic now that it's endemic.

We saw in Jan that up to 50%, if not more, covid hospital patients were not being treated for covid.

Agree case numbers are now a meaningless statistic, the dismantling of testing and relaxing of requirement to isolate if infected means we have no track of real case numbers. However we are still in the pandemic phase of covid with local/regional/national peaks and troughs driven by new and emerging variants. Endemic means a steady state of equilibrium without large peaks of disease but we are seeing significant outbreaks in Hong Kong and Denmark at the moment, for example. It is more wishful thinking rather than PH expert opinion. Also becoming endemic doesn't mean covid severity gets lower, it could be exactly the opposite and get higher. Omicron was said to be 'milder' but that was when compared to Delta, it isn't milder than the original or Alpha variants - vaccination is doing the heavy lifting now.

[Ymx]

Is omicron not milder to the un-vaxed? Really??

Blimey I haven’t thought about covid for such a long time.

Crazy world. Each year seems to try and outdo the last.

[Guy Smiley]

He discusses the possibilities at length in the thread.

Twitter are forcing me to sign up to read more than a couple of posts. I'm not giving in. Yet.

So reassuring to hear that I'm not alone. In my weaker moments I... it just feels sometimes that giving in would be easier. Just like going to sleep.

[CM11]

Number of people in hospital testing positive for covid is a meaningless statistic now that it's endemic.

We saw in Jan that up to 50%, if not more, covid hospital patients were not being treated for covid.

Agree case numbers are now a meaningless statistic, the dismantling of testing and relaxing of requirement to isolate if infected means we have no track of real case numbers. However we are still in the pandemic phase of covid with local/regional/national peaks and troughs driven by new and emerging variants. Endemic means a steady state of equilibrium without large peaks of disease but we are seeing significant outbreaks in Hong Kong and Denmark at the moment, for example. It is more wishful thinking rather than PH expert opinion. Also becoming endemic doesn't mean covid severity gets lower, it could be exactly the opposite and get higher. Omicron was said to be 'milder' but that was when compared to Delta, it isn't milder than the original or Alpha variants - vaccination is doing the heavy lifting now.

I was referring mostly to the UK and Ireland but fair post.

It doesn't feel very pandemicy at all here. Hospital numbers crept up without much fanfare and we've all but dismantled our emergency PH team.